How people give is continuing to change rapidly. This next set of givers is being referred to as “Web 2.0 donors”. Web 2.0 refers to the second generation of web design and development. The Web 2.0 users value communication and networking. It is not a change in the Internet, but how it is being used. It is a huge change, and nonprofits need to know now how to reach this set of users.
Most nonprofits understand that social media is one of the important tools to reach this new audience. However, it is necessary to understand the people you are trying to reach, not just the tools to reach them. Effective fundraising involves each of these pieces, after all.
Heather Mansfield, a blogger for Change.org, has compiled a list of the top five characteristics of the Web 2.0 donors:
1) The average age of these donors is between 20 and 30. “Once they start giving [with Web 2.0 technology,] they do not go back to Web 1.0 giving (your website),” Mansfield reports. These donors are very comfortable with using Web 2.0 technology.
2) Print materials are not effective in reaching Web 2.0 donors. With the growth of the “green movement”, this younger set of users wants you to be conservative with your resources. Receiving a thank-you note for a small donation they gave you online is not valued. “[The green] worldview directly affects the way they give and the way they want to be approached by the nonprofits they support.” You have to engage them in the areas they are comfortable with and respect their priorities.
3) Instead of print materials, recognizing these donors in a “public commons” is important. Facebook wall-posts, ReTweets, and other virtual compliments connect with Web 2.0 donors best. If they are giving through a public commons, most appreciate to be thanked through the same means.
4) Emails are still welcome. There are a lot of rumors about how email is dying with direct mail, but this is not entirely true with Web 2.0 donors. Mansfield found that “on average, when they donate they will provide you with their e-mail address 75% of the time.” Email is not dying, in fact, you should invest even more time in your email newsletters—they often are the only other way you have to connect and invest in these donors outside of the more impersonal social media interaction.
5) Getting to fundraising, nonprofits need to understand also that Web 2.0 donors are going to give in smaller amounts. They are more open-minded about their giving, providing support for more organizations that they have only seen through Facebook or other such sites. “In most cases,” Mansfield writes, “they will only become repeat donors if you nurture and interact with them where they live online.”
Remember too that you will always still have the Web 1.0 donors who will give through your website or just write a good old-fashioned check. They still will be an important part of your fundraising base. Your job is to meet each audience according to their needs.
To give you a better picture of what some of these donors look like, Mansfield writes about her own personal experience, “I am a classic Web 2.0 donor. In 2008, I gave almost $1,200 to 90 nonprofits on Change.org. In the backend of my individual account, I can see a running list and total of all the donations I have made since joining Change.org in February of 2007... and print out a tax-receipts for 2007, 2008, 2009, etc. I never would have give made 90 separate donations on 90 different websites... not only because it takes time, but think of all the paper and postage that would have been wasted! My contact info would have been bought, sold, and traded many times over... this is why I won't donate on an organization's website. On Change.org and other Web 2.0 giving sites, I have the control over my giving and contact information.”
This type of giving is addictive to Web 2.0 donors because of its simplicity and the freedom it provides. The question is, “are nonprofits ready for these donors?” Nonprofits are just beginning to develop a presence in social media. There is an incredible need for nonprofits to take action if they are to tap into this incredible movement for fundraising.
Additional information from Heather Mansfield’s blog “Five Things Your Nonprofit Needs to Know About Web 2.0 Donors”
-- Jessica High is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is a subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations. iDonate.com is a website (www.iDonate.com) that allows ministries to receive non cash gifts online